Adventures in Life, Love, & Home Improvement

I have a few project-type posts waiting in the wings for me to write about, but since Friday is the last day of school for me (!), I thought today was the perfect day to write up a quick bucket list (like I did last year) of what I’d like to accomplish this summer.

It can be so tempting to spend my entire two-and-a-half month break doing nothing but watching Mad Men and sleeping, but I’m determined to accomplish at least a few things this summer so I don’t feel like it’s entirely wasted.

So, here are 10 things I’d like to do this summer, in no particular order. Just like last year, several of the items are pulled from our 101 in 1,001 list, and others are just things I’d like to do.

1. Finish head chairs for the dining room.

Ugh. This one is just embarrassing. We started working on these last summer (and have owned them for who knows how long) and it just keeps getting put off. But I am GOING TO FINISH THEM THIS SUMMER.

Yes, the yelling was necessary. It’s going to happen. I swear it.

2. Watch lots of movies.

Corey and I are creating what is going to be an amazing media room in our garage, and I cannot wait to use it. It’s going to be fabulous. Now that it’s almost done (seriously – we’re hoping to start moving furniture in there this weekend!), I’m getting more and more excited to settle in and watch some movies on our giant projector.

3.Make our bed every day for a month.

I love having the bed made, but since Corey and I typically wake up at 5:00 in the morning for work, it just doesn’t happen on a regular basis. I’m hoping we can get in the habit of making it every morning over the summer, and then maybe that will carry over into the school year. There’s just something about a nicely made bed that makes the whole room feel more put together.

4. Start replacing window treatments throughout the house.

We just got our new windows installed last week (more on that later!), and we had to take down all of our window treatments on the windows we were replacing in order for them to install ‘em. Now that we’ve already got half of them down, I’d like to start working on upgrading the blinds and curtains throughout the house. I hate the ugly white blinds that we have on all of the windows, and I’m getting tired of most of our curtains. I’m hoping to start getting some of them replaced and updated this summer so all of our windows aren’t either naked or ugly.

5. Rip up the carpet downstairs (!).

Corey and I have finally made some decisions about what we want to do in terms of flooring throughout our house, and it looks like we’re actually going to be able to get started on it this summer. My goal is for us to get the majority of the downstairs done at least – we’ll see how it goes!

6. Have professional photos taken of us.

Corey and I aren’t great about taking photos of ourselves together, and the last time we really had any done was at our wedding two and a half years ago. I love having professional photos of us, and this summer we plan to get some taken. We’ve only ever had them done for our engagement and our wedding, so it will be nice to have a set of photos that are “just because” photos!

7. Spend lots of time outside.

This was one of my goals last summer and it didn’t really happen. There’s just something about 100+ degree weather that makes you want to hide in your house where there’s plenty of air conditioning. But I’m determined to spend some more time hanging out in the fresh air this summer – at the pool, at our favorite flea market, or just in our backyard. That’s kind of the whole point of summer, right?!

8. Spend at least 3 Saturday mornings garage-sale-ing.

Corey and I haven’t been to many garage sales since we moved back into the Austin area, and that’s just sad. Especially considering there are at least 2 or 3 in our neighborhood every weekend. I’m hoping this summer we’ll make the time to drive around and find a few good sales to check out – there’s just something about garage sales that makes me happy!

9. Eat at a restaurant owned by a celebrity.

This is one of those silly items on our 101 in 1,001 list that I’ve just always wanted to do. There are a couple celebrity-owned restaurants in Austin, so I don’t think it would be too tough for us to check one out for dinner one night!

10. Spend plenty of time relaxing.

I know I said I want to accomplish a lot, but I definitely want to make sure to spend as much time as humanly possible relaxing, too. I’m lucky to have such a huge break from work, and I want to take advantage of it! So, if there’s an entire week where I want to do nothing but lay on the couch and re-watch/analyze every episode of Mad Men and wonder why I love Don Draper so much, then I’m not going to let myself feel guilty about it.

And that’s what I’m hoping to accomplish this summer! The first part of my summer is going to be pretty full with work for grad school, but I’m hoping to finish that up by the end of June and then I’ll have the rest of the summer to relax – let’s see how much I accomplish!

I love your list!!!! It’s a great mix of home stuff and experiences. I wish we made the bed! We are on different schedules so it never happens. I hear that it’s like 42 times of doing something (or some other random # like that) to make a habit so maybe you’ll get into it. And 5am? HOLY HELL!!! And I like the pictures idea too! You’ll cherish them for years

I am with you on having some pictures taken! I don’t think Justin and I have really had a picture taken of the two of us since our wedding…3 freaking years ago. I need some! I agree – it would be nice to have some “just because” photos. It is always one of us or the other behind the camera…never both of us in front of it!

Welcome

I'm Amanda, he's Corey. We're two twenty-somethings with a passion for all things home decor & renovation related. We're currently in the process of turning our 80's builder-grade home into the house of our dreams. Oh, and we just became parents - our son, Jackson, has turned our world upside-down, but we couldn't be happier about it. I spend a lot of time talking about what we're doing, why we're doing it, and sharing inspiration that I find from anywhere and everywhere! Join us for the ride, I promise it’s going to be a fun one!

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